LUKBAN
Chapter 7
Balangiga
The men of Company C of the 9th US Infantry that arrived in the small town of Balangiga in the southern part of Samar was supposed to augment its forces in the campaign against the guerrilla bands of Gen . Lukban , one of the remaining guerrilla leaders fighting against American rule in the archipelago . To the Americans , Lukban ’ s defeat or surrender meant the end of a war that began in 1898 on the bridge of San Juan . In May 1901 , the overall military commander General Arthur MacArthur had issued instructions to take “ drastic measures ” against Lukban and “ to make this an emergency measure and clean up [ Samar ] as soon as possible .” 1
Company C , which had just recently returned from fighting the Boxer Rebellion in China , anchored at dusk on August 10 , 1901 , the feast day of St . Lawrence Martyr . Evidently , the townsfolk were still in a festive mood . They did not see it fit to come ashore until morning when the festivities would have subsided a bit . In the words of one survivor , Pvt . Henry W . Manire , “ When we drew near , the natives threw up their redbanded hats and cheered us with a boisterous welcome .” 2 ‘ Red-banded hats ’ were not the usual getup on ordinary days , especially for a small town like Balangiga .
On the morning of the next day , officials of the town gathered at the edge of the shore , including Mayor Abayan , Police Chief Abanador , and Father Donato Guimbaolot . There was also vice-mayor Andronico Belaez , town cuadricillo Pedro Duran , Mariano Valdemor , and two leaders of the Salazar clan — Custodio and Juan . 3 Another Balangiga survivor , Pvt . George Meyer , said they were prepared to meet them in small barotos ( outrigger canoes ) since Balangiga did not have a port then , and help them carry their supplies ashore . 4
At that time , Balangiga had an estimated population of more than 1,000 unevenly dispersed in some 200 thatched nipa huts , with a village market , a church , a convent , a plaza and a tribunal . According to Manire , it was the priest who gave them the tour of the church and convent , which he granted to the commander Capt . Thomas Connell as
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